Sectional cabinet.



J. I. KUENNEN. v SECTIONAL CABINET.

. APPLICATION FILED OCT- 31. I908. 1,204,788. I Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

31:11am Ioz I Witnesses UNIT STATES PATENT oFFroE.

JULIUS J. KUENNEN, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 YAWMAN & ERBE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF I YORIK.

Laoaass. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS J. KUEnnEN,

" of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sectional Cabinets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a'full, clear, and exact descrip tion of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsfforming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to furniture and it has for its object to provide means whereby a plurality of cabinet or other furniture sections may be assembled or, more particularly, arranged in superposed rela-- ment files are packed in quantity for storage.- when such papers are 'for particular reasons" not liable to be frequently referred to, and the units, when so loaded, are usually piled one upon the other. But as the units or cases are used in quantity and it is found expedient to construct them cheaply of light material, a difficulty is experienced in that the extension of a heavily loaded drawer of an up er case or unit is apt to cause the latter to tilt upon or become displaced with reference to that next beneath it in the direction in which the drawer is withdrawn.

My invention is directed toward curing this defect, and in view of the conditions recited its further objects are to provide a construction and arrangement of parts that will be simple and, adapted to' the production of such articles of furniture at a low cost.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

of superposed cabinet sections constructed in accordance with and illustrating-one em- Specification of Letters Patent.

sncrrormr. CABINET.

Patented N 6. 14, 1916.

Application filed October 31, 1908. Serial No. 460,428.

bodiment of my invention, the drawer of the however, is constructed, as to the parts material to this invention, in substantial dupli cation of the upper portions of the other section, the said base section being merely for the purpose of supporting the lowermost unit well above the ground floor of the storeroom or other place in which these articles of furniture are arranged. V The sections 1 and 2 comprise in the presentinstance drawer casings composed of a frame work 4 fitted with panels 5 forming the top, side. and rear end walls, the front beingleft open for the insertion and removal of the sliding, or any other preferred form of drawer 6. While the panels 5 are provided as a top wall to each case to prec0 vent the contents from being accessible to dust and otherwise when the section is at the top of the file, a complete closure for the bottom'is not particularly necessary and is herein omitted as is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. 35

The upper rear portions of the frames 4 of the casings are provided with transversely extending recesses 7, the front walls 7 of which are undercut, as shown at 8, to form rearward' projections 9, while the corresponding portions of the frame at the front of the casing are fitted with a transverse groove or channel 10 having walls forming abutments 11 and 12. The lower faces of the sections are reciprocally provided at 4 corresponding rear and front p'ointswith projectingribs or member-s13 J and 14, the forward'rib or projection being movable into and out of cooperation with its recess 10 and its abutting walls 11 and 12 by relative vertical movement of the two cases at their forward ends, while the under cut portion 15 of the rearward rib 13' is.

- adapted to engage beneath the undercut wall 8 of the recess 7 and forms a forwardly extending projection engaging the projection 9 through a movement of the upper case relatively to the lower in a forward direction, or in the direction in which'the ment of the sections in the direction of drawer is. withdrawn therefrom.

For convenience in. assembling the units of the cabinet a hand or finger hold is provided in therear wall by an aperture 16 used in conjunction with the handle 17 of the drawer 6, when closed, in lifting the sections. -In superposing one casing upon another, it is first positioned to project rearwardly beyond the rear wall thereof and i'hen drawn forwardly,-whereupon it will be seen that the forward rib 14 will automatically fall into place within the channel 10 between the abutments 11 and'12 while the undercut ortions 15 and'8 of the rib 13 and recess respectively, will interlock, as shown in Fig. 1. I The resistance to the withdrawing movement of the drawer 6 will then be. borne by all the units of the cabinet through the medium of the interlocking and cooperatingribs or members 13 and 14 and the member 13 is prevented from leaving its recess 7 by the member 1 1 when the drawer is returned to its normal position. In the extended position of the latter its overhanging weight is likewise balanced by all the members of the vertical. series and the topmost case is prevented.

longitudinal extent of said members. It will also be noted that by providing both of the members 13' and 14 upon the same side of the section and making the extent of their projection equal, the sections will stand evenly when detached from their mates and rested upon a flat surface, no matter whether the said sections be on a top or bottom wall as the wall in which the recesses are formed is regular in to its contacting surfaces.

respectv I claim as my invention; I a

1. An interchangeableunit for the formation of sectional cabinets comprising a casing having a drawer operating therein and adapted to be extended from one end thereof, the upper and lower portions of the casing at'the opposite end being provided, respectively, with fixed members each adapted to automatically interlock with a member formed in accordance with the other on an adjacent unit of the cabinet to prevent vertical disengagement of the units by a: lateral or horizontal movement of the upper casing relatively to the lower one in the. direction in which the drawer is extended, the member on the underside being formed by a rearwardly opening transverse undercut recess or rabbet along one edge of the face of the section and that on the upper side by a correspondingly arrangedrvertically extending and forwardly opening projection on the abutting face of the other.

2. An interchangeable unit for the formation of sectional cabinets comprising a,

casing having a drawer operating therein and adapted to be extended from one end thereof, the upper and lowerfacesof said end being provided, one with a transversely extending groove and the other with a correspondingly arranged'projecting rib adapted tofit within a similar groove in an adjacent unit and prevent a relative sliding movement of the units and the upper and lower faces of the' opposite end of the casing bein provided, respectively, with'a rearwar 1y opening undercut and transversely extending recess and with a forwardly opening undercut projecting portion, each of said undercut wallsbeing adapted to-interlock against verticaldisengagement with a portion formed in accordance with the other on an adjacent unit by a movement of the upper casing'on the lower one in the direction from which the drawer is withdrawn from the upper one to prevent relative tilting of the units when the upper drawer is extended from the casing.

I JULIUS J. KUENNEN.

Witnesses RUssELL B. GRIFFITH, LUCY A. VAN COURT. 

